Berlin ‘ready to contribute’ to Athens-Ankara thaw

There are encouraging signs of progress in Greek-Turkish relations, according to the German Chancellery's Foreign and Security Policy Adviser Jens Ploetner. Speaking to Kathimerini as he attended the eighth edition of the Delphi Economic Forum, the former German ambassador to Athens stresses that Berlin is ready to facilitate bilateral contacts "if so wished by the parties."

A close associate of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ploetner refutes challenges to the sovereignty of one NATO ally from another, but makes it clear that as far as German diplomacy is concerned, "having open and solid lines of communication with Ankara is not only useful but necessary."

Referring to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ploetner believes that peace "lies in a change of mind in Moscow," while on the matter of the European Union's stance towards Beijing, he says China is "a partner, an...